The African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) on 22 October reported on a groundbreaking ruling against Bayer-Monsanto and five state respondents in South Africa, which set aside several layers of decision-making regarding the approval of the application by Monsanto/Bayer for commercial release of its drought-tolerant GM maize MON87460. The ACB recognised the indispensable roles of ENSSER (European Network of Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility) members Prof Jack Heinemann and Dr Angelika Hilbeck (co-founder and acting board member of ENSSER) in this precedent-setting outcome. The expert opinions made by the two ENSSER members concerned scientific issues listed in the unanimous verdict of the five SCA judges, which triggered the application of the precautionary principle. For example, the Cartagena Protocol requires that claims of scientific certainty be substantiated with evidence to prove a lack of potential for scientific hazards, yet Monsanto’s risk assessment was inadequate in identifying plausible hazards. Also, Monsanto’s claims of lack of allergenicity were unsubstantiated and the allergenicity testing that was done was inadequate. GMWatch

 

 

Corn seeds sprayed with GM gene-edited bacteria are already being used on 5% of American corn crops. An alliance of Bayer, Corteva, Ginkgo, Novozymes and the manufacturer Pivotbio persuaded the US goverment that these bacteria need no safety review by regulators. Yet Pivot’s own advisers concede there are unanswered questions. And Kendra Klein, deputy director for science at FoE USA, said, “We are engineering organisms to do things that nature has not designed them to do and releasing them, in the billions, into incredibly complex ecosystems.” GMWatch on X @GMWatch

 

 

AstraZeneca has said it may cut jobs at its UK operation if the government enforces a global push to make companies share profits derived from nature’s genetic codes, multiple sources have told the Guardian. The alleged comments from the company came amid a concerted lobbying push by the pharmaceutical industry against the profit-sharing measures. Sources told the Guardian that the British-Swedish biotech company – which made $5.96bn (£4.59bn) profit last year – made the comments during a Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs roundtable meeting last week to discuss a proposed new global levy on drugs derived from the digital forms of biodiversity. A spokesperson for AstraZeneca denied the comments were made by their representative. The genetic codes of nature – which, when stored digitally, are known as digital sequence information (DSI) – are playing a growing role in new drug development in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. The Guardian

 

We hope you’ve found this newsletter interesting. Please support our work with a one-off or regular donation. Thank you!